Beginner's Guide To Saving Xanth
by Donna Z
Summary: Six 18 yr old girls try to save Xanth from an Evil Neo-Magician, his gang of evil followers, and a 12 yr.old girl. Please R/R!!!
1. In The Beginning

Humfrey, the Good Magician, was sitting in his study, reading the Book of Answers. It had just informed him that some strange and terrible happening was occurring, and Humfrey was desperate to find out what it was. He flipped through his Book and read the answer.  
  
"A NEW EVIL NEO-MAGICIAN HAS PLANS TO DESTROY XANTH."  
  
Ouch! This could be really bad news. Humfrey was lost in such a deep thought that he didn't hear his daughter-in-law Wira enter the room.  
  
"Good Magician?" she inquired in a soft voice.  
  
Her voice pulled Humfrey all the way up out of his deep thought. "Oh, what is it, Wira?" he grumbled.  
  
"Is everything all right? You went several feet underground, that time. Since the Gorgon and I are in the room below here, you floated all the way down into the sitting room."  
  
He sighed. "Well, it was a very deep thought. Wira, the Book says that there is a plot against the welfare of Xanth."  
  
"Oh." Wira paused, looking confused. "What's that?"  
  
"He plans to use a young Magician of extraordinary talent to perform some evil revenge for him. This will turn the magician entirely evil, naturally."  
  
"What is this talent of his?"  
  
"Her talent is..."  
  
"Her? I thought you said it was a Magician, not a Sorceress!"  
  
Humfrey shrugged. "Well, my Book isn't really gender-differentiated. Anyway, her talent is making magical things mundane. Not only that, but her talent erases all of the magical things that person has ever done! Right now she's twelve, so her talent only extends for one day, but when she is thirteen, she will be able to change people's whole lives! And her thirteenth birthday is in two weeks!"  
  
Wira's eyes opened wide "Is there any way we can stop this from occurring?"  
  
Humfrey grimaced. "It will require the help of six fifteen year old girls. And, of course, a lot of luck."   
  
"Will they be coming here?"  
  
Humfrey looked in his book. "Actually, yes. They should all be meeting on the path to the Castle in a few minutes. Why don't you set up the challenges."  
  
Wira nodded and left.  
  
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Sarah Alicentaur walked down the path, rustling her long, honey-colored wings. She was lost in her own thoughts, and she didn't see that her path was converging with another path coming from a deep forest. There was a girl on that path, walking equally carelessly. They walked right into each other, both falling backwards.   
  
"Ouch!" cried Sarah. Then, "Who are you?"  
  
The other young woman stood up, rubbing her head gingerly. She had curly light brown hair and bright turquoise eyes. "I'm Donna. What's your name?"  
  
Sarah raised her own hazel eyes. "Sarah Alicentaur. Are you, by any chance, perambulating toward the Good Magician's castle?"  
  
Donna smiled. "Yes. I'm really a Mundane, so I want to ask him how I can get a talent. What about you?"  
  
Sarah took a step backward and stared at the girl as if she were a laboratory animal. A Mundane? Poor girl didn't have a talent!"  
  
Donna, misunderstanding Sarah's thoughts and thinking the Alicentaur to be prejudiced against Mundanes, quickly added, "I'm the daughter of Magician Murphy and Sorceress Vadne. I was just summoned in Mundania."  
  
Oh. So she was the child of Xanthian parents. This was an interesting case. Sarah began her long, winding tale. "Three of my grandparents are from Centaur Isle. My maternal grandsire was a griffon, and he and my granddam had a daughter, an Alicentaur. My sire met her once on a trip from Centaur Isle, and they fell in love, and had me. I always wished to go to Centaur Isle, where three of my grandparents and my sire were raised, but my parents won't let me go. I'm going to the Good Magician to ask him why this is so."  
  
Nodding, Donna said, "I wish I could tell you, but I don't know very much about Xanth and Centaur Isle."  
  
Touched, Sarah quickly said, "It's all right. I'm sure that with two of us, the challenges to the castle will be easier to surmount anyway."  
  
"But I don't have a talent!" protested Donna. Then, for a moment, she looked curious. "What is your talent anyway, Sarah?"  
  
Sarah smiled. "I have the talent of nothingness. I can make myself weightless, or invisible, or insubstantial, or make people not be able to hear me. I can make myself blind, although I don't see the reason."  
  
Donna looked thoughtful, and asked, "Can you do that to other people as well?"  
  
Sarah nodded. "Yes."  
  
The two girls, chatting companionably about their lives, continued onward.  
  
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Phoebe ran into her house, full to the brim with playful exuberance. "Mother!" she called. "Look what I found!"   
  
Colinda, Phoebe's mother, walked out of the house, leaning heavily on a crutch for support. "What is it, dear?" she called. Although she tried not to show it, she was a very sick woman, due to the fact that her husband's talent had been making the people he loved ill. He had been a very vain man, and had died soon after summoning the stork with Colinda. By that time, though, Colinda was already sick. It didn't help that her daughter was very energetic and ran around all day long.  
  
"Mother! It's a golden beetle! I think it's from the Golden Coast!"  
  
Colinda gasped. "Don't touch that, dear! It's a Midas fly!" she cried. The fly was just about to land on hr daughter's shoulder, so she pushed her daughter forward hard. Phoebe fell, landing hard on a rock, breaking her knee.   
  
"Oh dear!" cried Colinda, hobbling back into the house. She grabbed a small vial of healing water she had once bought, and sprinkled a few drops on her daughter's knee. It was too bad she could not use the water on herself, but there was not enough water in the vial to heal her sickness, and Colinda only liked to use the water in emergencies.  
Phoebe glared at her mother. "I can not believe you did that!" she screeched. Then she glared at her mother and snapped her fingers.   
  
"No, Phoebe!" her mother cried, then she fell to the ground, in terrible pain. Colinda's talent was abating pain. If she had tried it on her daughter's knee, Phoebe's knee would not have hurt, but she still couldn't have been able to walk. Colinda could, however, use her talent to abate her own pain, and she did so without scruple. Phoebe had just made her and her day's spells mundane, so all of Colinda's pain from her sickness and her painful fall to the ground hit her at once. The pain was so bad she could not even speak. It was her fault of course, but it hurt so terribly.  
  
"Oh, Mother!" cried Phoebe. "I didn't really mean that!" She instantly snapped her fingers again, undoing her talent for that day.   
  
Colinda sat up, her pain gone. "Thank you, my dear. I am very sorry about hurting you. Now, why don't we go inside and have some lunch?"  
  
Mother and daughter walked hand in hand into the house.  
  
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Four fifteen-year-old girls walked down a path towards the Good Magician's castle, talking and laughing.   
  
One girl, with blond hair and gray eyes and a figure that could make a man's eye's pop, skipped down the path, giggling endlessly. "Why don't you ever laugh, Aqua? You're so tran, tran, tran..."  
  
Another girl, with brown hair and stunning green eyes, smiled. "Tranquil, Winda?"   
"Yeah, thanks, Terra. Anyway, we're going to find out what our talents are! You should be happy!"   
  
Aqua looked thoughtful. With a soft sparkle in her clear, shockingly blue eyes, she said softly, "Winda, dear, I am perfectly happy, and I daresay very excited. I just don't see the need to skip down a path, when I can walk just as fast. And there is nothing wrong with tranquility."  
  
Terra grinned. "Here, here, Aqua."  
  
The fourth girl sighed restlessly and tossed her hair, which was reddish orange with golden streaks. She rolled her eyes, which were the same red-orange-gold color. "You two are impossible!"  
  
Terra looked at Aqua and said, "I think the main difference between Winda and Igna is the fact that Winda is exuberant and Igna is passionate but still intelligent."  
  
Aqua, laughed and added, "Yes, and Winda cares more about her hair!"  
  
All four girls, including Winda, burst out laughing.  
  
When they stopped, Winda complained, "My hair is curly, though! It's sooooooo annoying! Terra and Igna both have straight, thick hair, and your bluish hair has soft waves, like the ocean, but my hair is all wild and frizzy! It looks like it's been through a windstorm!" She bounced it, just to make a point.  
  
Then the girls were all quiet. Two other females their age had just appeared on the path. One was an Alicentaur, with hazel eyes, honey-brown wings and hair, and a chestnut body. The other was an ordinary-looking girl. Both of them were very pretty, as pretty as the four sisters themselves.   
  
Winda, always lively, introduced herself first. "Hi! I'm Winda. And these are my sisters Igna, Aqua, and Terra. We're looking for the Good Magician's castle. Are you two going there too? And by the way, what are your names? And your talents? We're all fifteen but we don't have talents yet so we're going to the Good Magician's to find out what they are, what are your questions?" As usual, she said this very quickly.  
  
Donna looked a bit taken aback. Sarah said, quickly, Yes, Sarah Alicentaur and Donna Mundane, Nothingness for me, no talent for her, for me, to find out why my granddam and sire were expelled from Centaur Isle and for her to find out how she can get a talent."  
  
Winda looked confused. "What?"  
  
Terra smiled softly. "Winda, she just answered all of your questions. In order, too. I'm sorry, Donna and Sarah. Winda is a little bit..."  
  
"Ditzy! And Airheady!" cut in Igna.  
  
"Energetic," Terra finished.   
  
Donna was really getting to like this unlikely set of quadruplets. "Well, I don't have a talent, and you four don't know what yours are, so I identify with you. Why don't we go and work together on the challenges? They will be so much easier that way."  
  
"That sounds like a very sensible idea," murmured Aqua.  
  
"Great!" Igna said.  
  
Sarah shrugged and said, "Well then, let's get going at top speed. I'll make you all weightless for a bit and we can float the rest of the way there. It will be much quicker."  
  
"You mean we get to fly?" asked Winda, awestruck.  
  
"I was hoping not to phrase it quite that way, as you five obviously do not possess wings, but yes, we will be flying."  
  
"Let's go!" said Donna.  
  
Sarah used her talent to lighten them, and the unlikely set of six girls floated until the Good Magician's castle came into sight.  
  
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A/N: Not all of these ideas are my own. Xanth, the Good Magician, Wira, the Good Magician's castle, etc. belong to Piers Anthony. Aqua, Terra, Igna, Winda, Donna and Sarah are mine, and Colinda and Phoebe. Thanks to Arabella, another great writer, everybody read the Nassia the Dissatisfied Nymph stories, they're fantastic!   
This is my first Fanfiction.net story, so everybody PLEASE read/review, and read the rest of my stories as they go up!  
  
COMING SOON TO FANFICTION.NET:  
We meet the Evil Magician; our girls try to get through the challenges, with difficulty, more interesting stuff is revealed, READ ON!!!  



	2. The Weird Sisters

Slight change to the first chapter: Sarah, Donna, Aqua, Terra, Winda and Igna are eighteen, not fifteen. This becomes important later. Thanks and sorry for the errors.  
  
Beginner's Guide to Saving Xanth Chapter 2: The Weird Sisters  
  
The party of six females floated across Xanth to the Good Magician's castle. The journey was short, and Sarah Alicentaur, who was leading the way, quickly found herself up against an invisible barrier. Still floating, she turned to the other girls. "I think that this is where we stop. The Good Magician is not going to let us in without having us do our three challenges like any other querents."   
  
Terra nodded. "It would be most expedient to return to the ground, then." She looked a little shaken by not having firm ground beneath her feet.   
  
Sarah slowly turned off her talent. The other five girls gently landed on the ground.   
  
"That was fun! Can we do it again sometime, Sarah?" asked Winda.  
  
Donna looked a bit weak like Terra. She turned to Winda. "Winda, you barely needed to fight to move. How did you fly through the air so easily?"   
  
Winda looked thoughtful, which was rare. "I don't know. Maybe the wind was blowing only me. It did seem pretty easy though."  
  
Aqua raised one eyebrow. "The wind blows only you? Somehow that seems unlikely."  
  
Winda stuck her nose up in the air. "Maybe it just liked me better."  
  
After staring at Winda as though she were out of her mind, Terra said softly, "We should continue on, girls."  
  
"Yeah!" cried Igna.   
  
Donna and Sarah gave each other a wordless look that said the same thing: these four are crazy. Then the six girls walked on.   
  
Soon they encountered a solid wall that apparently circled the castle. The wall looked absolutely impervious, except for five doors. One door was green, one was blue, one was red, one was yellow, and one was white.  
  
Sarah, using her enormous centaur intellect, considered many different ways to surpass this challenge. Then she decided that it would be best to have Donna try this first challenge. Donna had no talent; she needed to rely solely on brainpower. It would be fairest to have Donna navigate this Challenge. So she turned to her friend and said "What should we do, Donna?"  
  
Donna shrugged and said, "Well, I guess one of these doors has a way in."  
  
Igna smiled. "Let's go! I'll take the red door."  
  
Aqua shook her head slowly. "That's probably not wise, dear. We should go as a group through the doors."  
  
Terra added, "what if every door has a way in? With a barrier, of course."  
  
Sarah nodded. "That makes sense. Well, let's go." She walked out to the green door and opened it. All the girls walked in.  
  
As far as they could tell, they were nowhere near the Good Magician's castle anymore. Now the girls were in a wide forest. The woods were filled with animals. Winda squealed with girlish delight when a horse galloped by. Terra ran to it. "Is there a way out of here, Mare?" she addressed the horse. The others looked surprised. Terra hadn't been able to speak to animals before! The horse neighed. Terra got on the horse's back and they rode away.  
  
"Okay, just leave us behind," Igna said huffily.   
  
The earth started to buckle. It was an earthquake! The girls ran to the green door and went through.  
  
Once through, Sarah finally grasped the meaning of the Challenge. "Each of us must get through our own way! So one door for each of us, but Donna and I will go together. Let's go in the yellow door next."  
  
They went through.  
  
Immediately the girls were buffeted into the air by a stream of wind. "Oooh, fun!" said Winda.   
  
Aqua shuddered. "Let's get out of here! I like having both feet on the ground!" Igna nodded, and Sarah privately agreed.   
  
Suddenly, a strong breeze carried Winda away from the group, far ahead into a wall of fog. "Good luck with your Challenges!" she cried.  
  
"Oh, great." Aqua looked more than slightly distressed. The four remaining girls went through to the blue door.  
  
Sarah choked. They were underwater! She fought to get to the surface. What an awful thing, for a centaur! Water was a formidable barrier.   
  
Aqua just smiled, though, literally in her element. She did a surface dive and swam away.   
  
Donna, Sarah and Igna wasted no time getting through to the red door. Igna smiled at them. "I fear you will be scorched if you follow me. Good luck, I shall see you at the next challenge." She walked in fearlessly.  
  
Sarah turned to Donna. "Better get on my back, Donna. I don't know what element we are. Donna scrambled on and then Sarah turned to the door.  
  
It opened on absolute nothingness.  
  
It was a manifestation of the Void! O horrors! Yet Sarah had a strange affinity to the vacuum, it was very like her talent.  
  
Like her talent. Maybe, if she could give objects an illusion of nothingness, she could nullify invisibility.   
  
Donna had evidently reached the same conclusion. "Perhaps somewhere around here there is a door," she suggested.  
  
Sarah tried to sense where there were objects in the room with an illusion of invisibility. She found the door, and the illusion disappeared. Hesitantly, Sarah walked through the egress. There, in a circular room, waiting, were the other four girls.   
  
Sarah and Donna breathed twin sighs of relief. But the challenges were only a third done.  
  
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Tempestas gazed imperiously at his five loyal followers, all men who used to be dissatisfied Xanthian citizens. Tempestas had a way of appearing as though he was making eye contact with every man at the same time. Actually, he was particularly contemplating one follower. Ferus was no longer essential to the mission. The man's talent was making others feel guilty. Although this was not a particularly useful or positive talent, Ferus had fallen in love with a beautiful, good woman named Bena, a woman who loved him equally. Ferus was likely to spill all of his secrets to the woman he loved at a random point in time; this was the way of love and Xanth. Ferus was no longer of use to Tempestas; perhaps it was time to get rid of him for once and for all.   
  
"Ferus," purred Tempestas. "I have something for you."   
  
Ferus stood up, looking as though perhaps he had won an award. "A slow death!" finished Tempestas. A laser shot through Ferus' chest, for that was Tempestas' talent: lasers. Ferus fell backward, a smoking hole in his chest. Actually, the man probably would not die; Tempestas predicted that his beloved would find him, tend his wounds, and that the lovers would live together happily in the fashion of couples in Xanth. As an added bonus, the laser had properties that could make Ferus forget about Tempestas and the gang entirely. Now Ferus was gone from them for good. It was for the good of the Mission.  
  
Tempestas turned to the four remaining men: Dav, Roger, Cole and Tom. Their talents were absolutely essential to the Mission. Dav could mask a person's talent so that its nature was not obvious. Dav had used his talent on those four weird sisters - the elemental girls. Tempestas had asked the Good Magician a long time ago at what age those brats would come into their powers. That age was thirteen. Rather old, for a normal talent, but for the past five years Tempestas had made sure the talents were made non-explicit to those girls. An intelligent outsider could easily determine the talents, but the girls had grown up at the Faun & Nymph retreat; there were no intelligent outsiders there! Those stupid girls would be no threat to him. They were Sorceresses, actually. In retrospect, Tempestas realized that Dav had to be a full Magician himself to affect the power of a Sorceress. Oh well; it was all in vain. Once those idiotic girls reached that meddler Humfrey's castle Dav's effort would all be useless; no matter how well their talents were masked, Humfrey could still tell them. Ah, the trials and tribulations of leading an Evil Mission!  
  
Roger, on the other hand, had the talent of discerning any person's relative and exact location. Tempestas had to admit that in any other case, this powerful talent would have been useless. Instead, Roger would be instrumental to finding Phoebe, that little brat-girl, when the time came. Roger was docile and obedient. A real asset.  
  
Cole was a different sort of group member. He was powerful and willful and Tempestas' brother, all good things to be in any situation. Cole was not the group leader because he was younger and had less of a drive for revenge than his older brother. Cole's talent was as forceful and willful as he himself was - terraforming. Cole could shape the ground, making hills, mountains, chasms and volcanoes with seemingly little effort.   
  
Tom was the final member of the group. Tempestas hated him, for Tom was insubordinate and disobedient. The man did have his uses, however. Tom was the son of one of King Dor's advisors; he was Tempestas' connection to Castle Roogna and his secret way in. Tom had the useless minor talent of creating little flames.  
  
Tempestas turned to the four remaining men. "Men, I have not been completely honest with you," he started. Cole was nodding. Tempestas continued. "Do any among you understand my real motive?"  
  
Roger, ever ready to answer to the nearest voice of authority, ventured timidly, "To revamp and save Xanth, isn't it, sir?"  
  
Tempestas gave a fatherly, indulgent smile to Roger. "Yes, Roger. Of course we shall change Xanth! And for the better, I assure you. But I have a few... personal motives," he said. He cleared his throat. "I am the grandson of Aeolus, former Storm King. I wish to nullify King Emeritus Trent completely, reversing all transformations ha has made in his whole life and keeping Mundanians out of Xanth."  
  
Tom, for once, began to get a glimpse of his true usage. "So I..."  
  
"Get me into King Dor's palace," finished Tempestas smoothly. "There is a twelve year old girl who has the talent I have just described, nullifying a Xanth citizen's talent and reversing all spells they have ever cast. Actually, right now, Phoebe's talent only goes back for one day. In two weeks, however, she will turn thirteen, and her talent will reach its maximum potential. All we need do is find the girl, corrupt her, and then bring her to King Trent. It should be easy enough. But there are six meddlesome females fated to try and stop us and I believe that..." Tempestas realized he was saying far too much and returned to talking about Trent. "After we bring Phoebe to Trent, she will use her talent on his transformations. This will induce so many complex changes in Xanth; it is bound to be interesting. The results should be disastrous."  
  
Tom raised an eyebrow. "Disastrous?"  
  
"Disastrous for Kings Trent and Dor. Wonderful results for supporters of the Storm King and a Xanth free of those disgusting, filthy, spell less," he shuddered, then continued, "barely human mundanes. Do you still remain true to me, Men?"  
  
One by one, the four men nodded. Tempestas smiled evilly. Those girls could not win. His plan was flawless.  
  
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As soon as Sarah shut the door she had just walked through, the door disappeared. Donna quickly dismounted from Sarah's back and gazed about the room. She bent down and picked something up off the ground.   
  
Sarah examined the room more closely. It was metal, and very like a cylinder. Sarah decided that the walls were probably infinitely high.   
  
Terra, the voice of reason, asked, "can you use your talent to diffuse the walls?"  
  
Sarah concentrated and tried, but the walls stayed solid. All six girls sighed. They should have known that no more than one challenge would involve Sarah's talent.   
  
Aqua calmly said, "It is such a shame that we four do not know our talents."  
  
Donna looked thoughtful. "Could it be that you all have elemental power? That Terra has the power of earth, Aqua has the power of water, Igna has the power of fire and Winda has the power of air?"  
  
All four quadruplets jumped and suffered from very different reactions. "Now why didn't we think of that before?" asked Aqua rhetorically.  
  
Igna, with a glint in her eye, exclaimed, "Maybe there is an Evil Magician casting spells against us!"  
  
Terra sighed heavily. "I am very much afraid you are correct, Igna."  
  
Winda hopped up and down. "We're Sorceresses!" she exclaimed.  
  
Sarah smiled. "Yes, you are, I think." Donna looked more than a bit envious.  
  
Igna jumped into action. She put out one hand about a foot away from the wall and shot a flame out of the hand. The metal of the wall turned slightly black, but nothing else happened. Igna's face fell. "I should have known I couldn't melt this wall. It's infinitely high! That means it has infinite mass. I could never hope to raise the temperature of this wall to melting point!"  
  
Aqua raised her arms and summoned a wave that crashed in a futile manner against the wall, succeeding only in wetting the girls' feet. She looked a bit crestfallen.  
  
Donna stepped in. "Alright, talents are not going to work here. I found this when I walked in, though; does anyone know what it is?" She picked up what looked like a thick pen.  
  
"A Magic Marker!" exclaimed Winda, delighted.  
  
Terra turned to Donna. "Can you draw fairly well?"  
  
Donna nodded. "I don't see why..."  
  
Aqua smiled tranquilly. "Please draw a door, Donna."  
  
Donna drew the door on the wall. It was a very realistic door, complete with planks, hinges, a doorknob and a keyhole. She grasped the doorknob with one hand a turned. The door opened. The six girls walked outside onto a grassy field. Now, the only thing separating them from the door of the castle was the moat.  
  
"Well done, Donna!" exclaimed Sarah.  
  
Aqua and Terra said at the same time, "Now the four of us don't need to perform our Services."  
  
"'Cause we know our talents!" finished Winda, exuberant.  
  
Donna looked a bit upset, and murmured; "I guess you don't need to come with us, then."  
  
Igna looked fierce at the very suggestion. "Of course not! If it weren't for you we wouldn't know our talents; besides, both of you have been really nice and we'll help you. Right?" she asked, turning to her sisters.  
  
"Correct," said Aqua and Terra.  
  
"Yay!" said Winda.  
  
Donna and Sarah exchanged a half of a glance. With half of a smile on each of their faces, the girls and Alicentaur walked to the moat.  
  
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Phoebe walked through her small garden, tiny shoulders drooping. Both mother and daughter loved flowers, so they had spent long hours planting them together. They had Wheat Flower and White Flower and Cooking Flower, as well as many blue violents. They had planted a row of pansies, flowers that shouted, "You're a coward! Come and fight!" as anybody walked by. They had planted a small petting zoo as well, Cattails, pussywillows, coltsfoot, and eggplant, which eventually hatched into all types of birds. There was a row of sunflowers, bright and shining, not only so that Colinda could walk through the garden at night but because Phoebe's name meant Sun and Phoebe's mother thought the flowers were appropriate.  
  
There was a row of boring herbs, and some smart herds like sage, then food plants, like breadfruit and milkweed and milk vetch, and mundane vegetable plants because Colinda thought they were healthy. Finally there was a row of clothing bushes- garment bushes, lady slipper plants, glasses bushes, and some sewing bushes like Hemlock. Every day since before Phoebe could remember mother and daughter had walked and in hand through the gardens.  
  
Until today. Colinda was far too sick to walk, after that horrible fall she had taken. Phoebe felt terrible about using her talent to hurt her mother. Wasn't there some way she could make her mother's illness better?  
  
Phoebe had a truly excellent idea, then. Why not find a healing spring and bring the water back to her mother? A lot of the water? Or even find the spring and bring Colinda there! Then she would be healthy again!  
  
Phoebe quickly wrote a note that said:  
Mom-  
Gone to find healing spring. See you soon. Feel Better.  
Phoebe  
  
Phoebe was clever and resourceful. She could survive well enough alone in the wilderness of Xanth. She packed a few useful items just in case and a large water canteen. Then, without another thought, she left the house.  
  
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The six young women stood in front of the moat. They had walked all of the way around it and could find neither boat nor drawbridge. They did, however, find a large, hungry-looking moat monster. Sarah was getting worried. A large, powerful spell was blocking her from just flying across, so that wasn't an option either. The Alicentaur would just need to find another way.   
  
Donna turned to the other girls and asked, "I haven't been in Xanth very long. Can moat monsters go on land?"  
  
Aqua, as the expert in water animals, shrugged. "Only some breeds. I don't recognize the breed of this monster, though. I'll use my talent to help." Aqua focused her eyes and concentrated. The water split and formed a dry path to the other side.   
  
Sarah smiled bemusedly. "Much as that did help, it is still a ten foot drop to the path, Aqua."  
  
Terra focused in turn. The earth raised and formed a small land bridge. It looked a bit flimsy. "Well, I might be a Sorceress but my talent has so many individual aspects that this one isn't that strong," she said defensively.  
  
Winda smiled and said, "You guys are all fools! Let's hold hands in a circle, and transfer your power to me."  
  
Aqua and Terra shrugged and joined hands on either side of Winda. Igna stepped up and completed the circle.   
  
"This might not be such a good idea." Donna frowned.  
  
Sarah sighed. "They should try it, it will help them understand their talents all the better."  
  
Winda suddenly raised her arms, still holding Aqua and Terra's hands. A huge tornado appeared and all of the water got carried away. The moat monster went with it.   
  
The girls focused geographically on the Xanthian Ocean. They gently placed the monster and column of water in the sea so as not to cause a tidal wave. Then they released each other's hands.  
  
"Wow," whispered Igna. The others were completely speechless.  
  
"Not bad," Donna said. "Now let's walk across."  
  
Sarah furtively stepped on the land bridge, seeing if it would hold her hooves. It turned out that the earth was firm and steady. The girls, in a single file line, walked across the now-dry moat. They stepped up to the huge door. Donna grasped the bronze knocker and knocked loudly. The door opened. It was Wira.  
  
"Why hello, Donna Human, Sarah Alicentaur, Terra, Aqua, Winda and Igna Elemental. We've been waiting. Do come in."  
  
"Elemental?" asked Terra, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Oh my! I see the Magician has quite a bit to tell you." She led the girls into the Good Magician's study.  
  
"Well, girls, what have you to say about sucking all of the water out of my moat?" the Good Magician inquired none too kindly.  
  
Winda whined, "You mean that wasn't the way to defeat that Challenge?"  
  
"Actually, I had in mind for you six to realize that the mat monster was a boat masked by illusion and ride it across, but you didn't exactly follow that guideline."  
  
Terra hit her forehead with the heel of her hand. "Oh no," she groaned.  
  
"Ask your Questions," the Good Magician grumped.   
  
Donna stepped forward. "How can I get a magic talent?"  
  
The Good Magician got out of his chair and stepped up to a shelf. He took out a large glass jar. "Here. This is the talent of conjuration. Used correctly, Sorceress-caliber, like those of your five friends. Your Service will be a quest. If you complete it successfully, the talent will remain with you forever."  
  
Donna's eyes shone. "Really?"  
  
The Magician said, "Do you accuse me of lying?"  
  
"Oh, no of course not. I just..."  
  
"Next Question!"  
  
Sarah stepped forward. "Why did my parents leave Centaur Isle and forbid me from going there?"  
  
"Ask the Gorgon to summon a good steed for Terra Elemental. She will summon a steed that will provide your answer better than I can. Your Service will be to go on the same quest as Donna Human, together."  
  
Donna clasped Sarah's hands. "Oh good! We can stay together!"  
  
Terra stepped up next. "Why did you address us as Elemental, not Human?"  
  
The Good Magician took off his glasses and sighed. "Terra, Aqua, Igna and Winda, you are not precisely human. You are human in that you have flesh, a soul, a human's body and a talent. However, your parents..." He wiped his gnome-like forehead. "They are the Four Elements, Water, Earth, Air, and Fire. They can be addressed as demons, at times, but they are really made of the magic and whatever element they represent." He paused. "It is very boring, not being able to have a real personality, or feelings, or a soul. So your parents importuned the stork to send them four baby girls. The storks did so, and brought you four. You are the manifestations of your parents' natures. But your parents are not human, so by definition you four aren't either. Your parents would have loved to bring you up, but they foresaw the danger that is presently occurring because of Tempestas. They sent you to the Faun & Nymph Retreat so that you could fulfill your destiny. I can not tell you more, it will become self-evident, I assure you."  
  
Terra digested all of this. "We're...not human?"   
  
"For all biological purposes, yes, you are. You just didn't have human parents."  
  
Terra nodded and stepped back. The other three looked dumbfounded, jaws and eyes wide open.  
  
Donna stepped forward again. "If you please, sir, why did you address me as Donna Human, not Donna Mundane?"  
  
He sighed. "This will not cause you another answer. I called you a Xanthian citizen because you are one, by birth. Your parents were magical, thus you are Xanthian in the same way the quadruplets are Elemental."  
  
Donna nodded, obviously satisfied. "What is this quest we must embark upon, sir?"  
  
He groaned. "An Evil Neo-Magician named Tempestas has evil plans to destroy Xanth. He has a personal quarrel with King Emeritus Trent, the transformer of living creatures, I believe. He, and his band of four followers, two of whom are Magicians in their own right, plans to use a little girl named Phoebe to his advantage. She has a remarkable and amazing talent. Phoebe, currently, can nullify any person's talent, rendering them spell less for the rest of the day and reversing any spells she or he has done so far that day."  
  
Donna shrugged. "A good talent, but I don't see how..."  
  
The Good Magician continued as if he had never been interrupted. "She is twelve years old. In two weeks her talent will magnify beyond belief and she will be able to make a person's talent disappear for the rest of that person's life, also erasing any spells that person has ever cast."  
  
All six girls covered their mouths in maidenly dismay. "Oh no!"  
  
Aqua began, "If Tempestas uses her to nullify Trent,"  
  
"All of his transformations will be erased," continued Igna,  
  
"And Xanth will fall ruin to an Evil Magician!" finished Terra.   
  
"Horrors!" cried Winda. All four girls looked terrified.  
  
Donna, too, looked frightened to say the least. "I need to nullify this man? How is that possible?"  
  
"Just be yourself. You'll do fine," he said grumpily. "Now get on with it. Sarah, the Gorgon is downstairs and ready for your question."  
  
In the shock of the moment, Sarah had forgotten all about her Question. "Uh, yes, sir," she said uncertainly.  
  
Wira appeared at the door. "I'll lead you downstairs to the Gorgon, girls." She walked out of the study.  
  
Silently, the six girls followed her.  
  
***********************************************************************  
Author's Note: Okay, that's all, folks. I hope you enjoyed. In the next one there's going to be a lot more action and less information, so that should be fun. Once again, many of the characters, settings, ideas, etc. written above were borrowed from Piers Anthony. Thanks to Arabella, who BETA read this story too, she has a lot of patience :-) Ari, who helped me think of a title, and Becca, who first got me hooked on Piers Anthony at SIG.   
  
COMING SOON!!!: Okay, Next issue, which should be up by Monday: the girls go on a mission to find Jenny Elf, who has a magical cat Sammy who will help Terra, Aqua, Winda, Igna, Donna and Sarah find Phoebe. They find her and go to find a mysterious half-demoness who can help them... Tempestas goes out and gets himself hopelessly lost; you'll have to read on to find out the rest...  
  
Stella   



	3. Demon Girl

Beginner's Guide to Saving Xanth Chapter 3: Demon Girl  
  
The six girls walked downstairs to the kitchen with the Gorgon. There, she served them each a pile of cookies. All six were silent with shock at what the Good Magician had said. Eventually, the Gorgon broke the silence by saying, "the Magician told me that one of you would have a question for me. I think now is a good enough time to ask."  
  
Sarah Alicentaur had completely forgotten about her question, but now she said, "Gorgon, where can I find a suitable steed for Terra?"  
  
The Gorgon smiled. The Good Magician had covered her face with the illusion of nothingness, and then covered that illusion with the illusion of her face. The Gorgon was a truly lovely woman, especially when she smiled. The snakes that were her hair even hissed more harmoniously. She said, "Oh, that would be Alex Alicorn. I don't know what you asked, but I think I can assure you happiness." She winked at Sarah in a way that almost made Sarah blush. "I am the fifth of Humfrey's five and a half wives, I'll turn this month over to MareAnn. She can help you more now. I'm sure she'll give the month back to me after anyway." The Gorgon took a bottled spell off the shelf and opened it. In a few moments, a much older lady about Humfrey's age replaced the lovely woman. This lady was supposedly MareAnn.  
  
"Um, hello," said Donna a bit awkwardly.  
  
MareAnn smiled back smoothly. "Hello, girls. Humfrey told me you would be coming several months ago." This statement caused all six to start with surprise. "Is there an equine you want me to summon? That's my talent; summoning any animal of equine descent."  
  
Sarah, deciding that this was her question and therefore her responsibility, jumped in, saying, "I need a steed for Terra; apparently this is the answer to my Question."  
  
MareAnn wrinkled her brow. "Terra?"  
  
Terra stepped forward, lovely in her earthly way yet apparently not thinking about MareAnn at the very moment. She spoke, softly, "MareAnn, I am Terra Elemental. I command the forces of the Earth." She said this with complete conviction.  
  
MareAnn nodded unconsciously. "I see that you have an easy grasp of difficult and unnerving concepts; Humfrey said that you didn't know your ancestry. Well, Sarah...you are Sarah Alicentaur, am I correct? Anyway, who is this steed?"  
  
"Yes, my name is Sarah. The Gorgon suggested Alex Alicorn."  
  
MareAnn's eyes opened with shock.   
  
"What's wrong?" asked Sarah quickly.  
  
MareAnn sighed. "I thought that the Gorgon knew. I can't summon unicorns - I've lost my innocence, married to Humfrey."  
  
"Of course she knew!" came a familiar grumpy voice from the doorway. It was the Magician. "MareAnn, get me some lunch."  
  
"At your service," she said smoothly, and brought out a sandwich from the cupboard for him. The Good Magician walked away, evidently satisfied. MareAnn smiled. "I suppose that Alex is not a true unicorn, for otherwise Humfrey would not have asked me indirectly to summon him. Hold on." MareAnn shut her eyes and concentrated.   
  
All six girls heard hoof falls from the hall. Terra nearly stood up. She said, "Those aren't alicorn hoof falls, they are far more like..."  
  
MareAnn smiled. "Let her see for herself, dear."  
  
Terra was quiet. Wira poked her head in. "Alex Alicentaur is here, he didn't need to do any challenges. He says that he has a Service for the Good Magician that he never did, and he supposes that this is the best time to fulfill it."  
  
MareAnn said, "Time indeed! Well, send him in, Wira."  
  
Sarah looked toward the doorway as an Alicentaur about her age walked in Sarah blinked and looked again. Alicentaur? She had thought that his name was Alex Alicorn! On closer inspection she saw that he was actually about half alicorn, apparently the product of a meeting between a winged unicorn and a human in a love spring. His horseflesh was pure white, as were his wings; his human forepart had tousled blond hair and cool grey eyes. He was the handsomest creature of equine descent that Sarah had ever seen, and she wondered how she had not known of his existence before today.  
  
MareAnn quickly made some introductions. "Alex Alicorn, your Service will be to be Terra Elemental's steed. These six young women are Winda, Aqua, Igna, and Terra Elemental, Donna Human and Sarah Alicentaur."  
  
Alex nodded briefly. "I am pleased to meet all of you." He turned to Terra. Do you know how to ride an equine?"  
  
Terra smiled calmly, regaining her composure from the earlier shocks of the day. "I command the forces of the earth. I daresay I will be able to ride you duly well."  
  
Alex looked abashed. "I'm sorry; I didn't realize. I assume your sisters command the forces of water, air, and fire?" When Terra nodded agreement, he murmured, "Amazing! You match the talents of the children of Princess Ivy and Magician Grey."  
  
Terra blushed demurely and said, "Thank you." It was a truly generous compliment, for Princesses Melody, Harmony, and Rhythm had the most powerful combined talent in Xanth. The sisters were all very flattered.  
  
Sarah quickly said, "It would be most expedient for us to start our journey now. Thank you, MareAnn, for your hospitality and for answering my Question."  
  
"Oh, but I didn't answer it, I just provided you a means to figure out your Answer an your own. And you are most welcome, dears; I think I shall turn it over to the Gorgon now." She disappeared.   
  
"Well then," said Donna, "let's go. I'll ride Sarah; Terra, you ride Alex." She pondered for a moment, and then said, "We should find a blanket bush and harvest a blanket from it. Aqua and Igna can ride it, and Winda can levitate it. Our journey will progress much faster this way." She climbed on Sarah's back. Terra got on Alex's back, and the party of seven left the Good Magician's castle.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
After some time, the motley group decided to rest for the night. The girls had by now acquainted Alex with their personal life stories and the nature of the quest that they were on. Alex, instead of being perturbed by the difficulty of their quest, seemed happier. "I have always wished to do something important with my life," he told them. "I grew up with my father, an alicorn stallion. From him I inherited my equine half, my wings, and my talent, in a certain fashion. I understand your confusion. The fact that I have a talent comes from my human mother, but my talent is recognizing is people are telling the truth or a falsehood. It is a useful talent, and a bit like a unicorn's test with its horn. Anyway, I went to the Magician a few years ago to ask how I could find true happiness. He told me I needed a Quest and a mate. The former I have found, and I think soon I shall find the latter."   
  
Sarah could not help being curious, but she stifled it. Instead, she said, "The four Elemental girls went to the Good Magician to find out their talents, which we determined in the course of our challenges. Donna went to find out how she could get a talent..."  
  
Alex interrupted her, "Aren't you a Xanthian citizen?"  
  
Donna told him her history as the Mundane child of Magician Murphy and Sorceress Vadne, and her immigration to Xanth. She concluded, "Now I have the talent of conjuration, which I can keep if I am successful in my quest. It really is my Quest, but Sarah's Service is to help me along."  
  
Now Alex turned to Sarah. "What was your talent, lovely centaur filly?" he asked solicitously.   
  
Sarah blushed and said, "I asked why me sire and granddam did not return to Centaur Isle. I have a feeling that my dam and sire are excluding part of the story from me."  
  
Alex nodded. "I have an inkling of the reason, but I think it would not be wise to tell you. Instead, on our journey, we shall hope to intersect the path of the winged centaur family - Chex, Cheiron, Che, Cynthia, Chena, Crystal, Carleton, or Sharon. They shall certainly be able to provide you with an Answer, and I think that you should meet your own kind."  
  
Sarah nodded appreciatively. "That appears most wise."  
  
"That is truly a compliment, from a centaur."  
  
"Okay, enough with the flirting," Winda cut in. "That's my job, as the current leading ditzy female." She bounced her curly hair. Both Sarah and Alex managed to blush. Igna elbowed Winda. "Come on, Winda. Let's find another person to tease." She wheeled towards Donna. "Why didn't you just conjure us a blanket, instead of making us find a blanket bush?"  
  
Donna's mouth formed an O of surprise. "Why, I didn't think of that. I am just so unused to having a talent; the thought didn't even strike me."  
  
"It is not your fault at all, it must be a large psychological change to have a talent after being Mundane," Aqua said somewhat passively.  
  
In a moment Terra stiffened. "Someone's coming, I feel the ground shifting. It feels to be an exuberant human of about twelve."  
  
A girl fitting that description perfectly burst into the plain. "People!" she exclaimed joyously. Then, she added, "Winged centaurs!"  
  
"Hello, little girl," said Terra kindly. "What are you doing out in the wilderness alone?"  
  
The girl pouted cutely. "Right now, I'm looking for a good place to stay for the night. I'm on a miniature Quest to find a healing spring so I can make my mother well."  
  
All seven older creatures nodded. The girl had good intentions, at least. Donna introduced them. "I'm Donna, this is Terra, with brown hair, Aqua, with blue hair, Winda, the blonde, and Igna, with red hair. And these two are Sarah Alicentaur and Alex Alicorn." What's your name?"  
  
The girl smiled brightly. "Phoebe. My talent is nullifying other people's talents for a day."  
  
The group all looked shocked. Donna said, incredulously, "You're Phoebe?"  
  
Phoebe looked defensive. "Yes, is there a problem with that?"  
  
"Oh, no, of course not. It's just that we were looking for you. Our quest is to... to help you, as it were." A fine understatement, but perhaps necessary.  
  
Phoebe brightened considerably. "Good, then you can help me find a healing spring. My mother is sick, and I know that she'll die if I don't get her some healing water quickly. I can't let her die!" Tears shone in the little girl's eyes. "My father's talent was making those he cared about sick. So he died, and he made my mother sick, but he died before I was delivered so I'm fine. I just need to help."  
  
Everyone in the party nodded. Terra said, "I think I saw a houseplant back a little ways. We can sleep in there overnight. Phoebe, why don't you stay with us? It appears that our interests coincide."  
  
"Great!" exclaimed Phoebe.  
  
The party of eight went to the houseplant. There were eight bedrooms in it, so they slept comfortably. It was a positive start to the quest.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
In the morning Donna awoke earlier than the rest and harvested eight pies from a pie plant. She realized that she could have just conjured the pies, but she suspected that her talent had some tangible limits and that it would be best for her to only conjure when absolutely necessary.   
  
However, Donna noticed something a bit strange: there was a huge garden of food plants and such. It was a remarkable coincidence.   
  
Just as Donna plucked the pies from their branches, a smoky figure coalesced next to her. "Who do you think you are, thieving from my garden?"  
  
Donna was duly confused. "Doing what from your garden?"  
  
"Pilfering, pinching, shoplifting, mugging, embezzlement..."  
  
"Oh, stealing?"  
  
"Whatever," said the smoky figure crossly.  
  
Donna lifted her hands in a gesture of peace. "I was not attempting to take from your precious supply of food, demoness. I am most sorry. Me and my party of seven friends are on a Quest to save Xanth, and I was looking for something to eat."  
  
The demoness, mollified, said, "Well, if you're trying to save Xanth, you can take all of the pies you want. I don't need to eat; I'm a demoness. My half-demon son, Demon Ted, doesn't eat very much - he's only seven, after all. Only my husband Veleno eats a normal amount of food. I'm Metria, by the way."  
  
Donna smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Metria. You are a married demoness? I understood that demons didn't have souls."  
  
"Well, I got half of Veleno's soul when we got married, and Demon Ted has half my soul, so now we each have a quarter soul. My son's friend DeMonica, the daughter of Princess Nada Naga and Prince Demon Vore, has half of a soul. She also got a talent from her mortal mother: she can locate magical springs."  
  
Donna nodded, and then got a bright idea. A lightbulb flashed over her head. "She can find a healing spring?"  
  
"Easily. It's a useful talent, even if it's not that strong."  
  
"Wonderful!" Donna cried excitedly. "Do you know where we can find this demon girl? She is the first key to the completion of our quest."  
  
Metria smiled. "I will fetch her for you and bring her here. It might take some time, though; where are you staying?"  
  
"In the houseplant, at the moment."  
  
"Great!" Metria exclaimed. "I'll see you there soon." She popped out.  
  
Donna ran back to her friends, barely able to contain her excitement. "I ran into someone who can help us! Her name is DeMonica and she can locate magical springs. She'll meet us here soon," she explained. Aqua, Terra, Winda, Igna and Phoebe all squealed in delight at this fortuitous discovery. Sarah merely smiled, for centaurs didn't squeal, and Alex remained asleep. The seven conscious members of the group ate breakfast, enjoying the pies. Soon Alex walked over and sat next to Sarah and ate his own pie. The eight friends sat in companionable silence, which was soon broken by a loud pop. Donna wheeled around and exclaimed, "Metria! Did you bring her?"  
  
The form solidified, and now it was discernable that it was not one demoness but two, one who looked about seven years old. She jumped out of Metria's arms and said brightly, "I'm DeMonica. Do you need me to find a spring for you?"  
  
Igna looked at Donna, vaguely annoyed. "This is the help you found? A seven-year-old half demoness?"  
  
Defensively, Donna said, "Well, she can help us, you know."  
  
DeMonica looked at Aqua. "Hey, she can figure out the nature of springs also! You don't need me!" She started to turn diffuse.  
  
Aqua quickly explained, "Yes, I can identify the properties of water, but I can't locate magic springs. Only you can do that, DeMonica. We need your help."  
  
The little girl sighed. "Fine, I'll help you, as long as you're not a drag. Why do you need me anyway?"  
  
All of the creatures present looked at Phoebe, who explained, "I need healing water for my mother so that she doesn't die from her illness."  
  
Metria wiped a tear from her eye. "Oh, how sad!" she sobbed. Donna knew that this was genuine emotion, not teasing, because Metria had a quarter of a soul.   
  
DeMonica concentrated, and said, "The nearest healing spring is about a day's journey from here by foot. Can we fly? It will be much faster!"  
  
Alex, who had not spoken until this moment, now said, "Yes, we have ready means of aerial transport." When the girl looked confused, he clarified, "We can fly."  
  
"Oh!" cried DeMonica. "Let's go, then! What are we waiting for?"  
  
"What indeed?" asked Donna a bit rhetorically. She smiled at Sarah and mounted the winged centaur filly's back. Terra got on Alex's back, and Aqua, Igna, Phoebe, and DeMonica got on the blanket harvested earlier that Winda was using her talent to make fly. The ever-growing party of nine went off to the healing spring. Metria waved good-bye and good-luck, and popped out.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
After a few comfortable hours of flight, Sarah and Alex's wings began to tire. Winda looked as though her talent was getting a bit strained as well. Donna decided that it would be most expedient to make a stop, when DeMonica cried, "There it is! Just ahead!"  
  
Sarah flew forwards, and then her wings gave way. "Oh no, I'm falling!" she cried. Alex, a bit stronger, looked able to fly a bit more, but he shot towards them as Sarah went into a tailspin.   
  
"Use your talent of nothingness!" Donna screamed. Sarah tried, but only succeeded in making her and Donna light as they crashed.  
  
Surprisingly, the fall wasn't painful. In fact, Sarah felt rather...  
  
Wet.  
  
They had fallen into the spring! Oh no! Sarah tried to fight her way to the surface, trying to get out before she drowned. Surely she should have suffocated by now...  
  
But then Sarah laughed at her own stupidity. She couldn't die in a healing spring! In fact, she felt supremely healthy at the moment. She saw Donna floating near her, evidently having reached the same conclusion. They smiled at each other, and then began to swim to the surface.  
  
The other members of the group laughed as they emerged. "Come in!" Sarah called. "You'll get perfectly healthy!" And they did. One by one, the other seven members of the group dove into the healing water. Alex seemed the most reticent; as an equine, he tended to avoid lakes and springs and such, but Sarah managed to pull him in. Aqua, by comparison, did a perfect swan dive into the spring and laughed with sheer delighted abandon, a distinct change from her usual tranquility.  
  
After some bathing and a huge water fight, Phoebe got down to business. "I'm going to collect some of this water in a canteen," she said. "Hopefully it will be enough."  
  
DeMonica swam over and handed her a locket. "This is magical, it can fit as much as you want in it. You can put a gallon of healing water inside and it will stay the same size and weight."  
  
Phoebe smiled. "Thanks, DeMonica! That's great!" She proceeded to fill the locket with enough water to drown her mother.  
  
"Ixnay, Phoebe," murmured Aqua calmly. "Do not take much water from the spring. It wouldn't like that." Phoebe desisted immediately, looking contrite.  
  
Soon, considerably wetter and healthier, the nine companions left the healing spring. DeMonica waved to the rest. "I guess you don't need me anymore. See you soon!" she cried and popped away.  
  
"She wasn't bad, for a half-demoness," remarked Terra to no one in particular.  
  
Phoebe broke into a sprint. "My house is right near here! We can go there now and give my mother the healing water!" She continued to run.   
  
Sarah groaned, caught Alex's eye, and broke into a full centaur gallop. She caught up with Phoebe at the door to a cabin with a magnificent garden. Phoebe ran inside. "Mother!" she cried gladly.  
  
To Phoebe's shock and dismay, Colinda appeared much more sick than before, completely bedridden. Now she smiled, but the look of fear didn't leave her eyes. "Oh, Phoebe! I thought you had been killed! I've been so worried!"  
  
"Here, I brought you some healing water, mother!" she cried.  
  
"I fear it is of no use, my dear. I am too far gone."  
  
"We'll see about that!" cried Phoebe defiantly. Sarah put a restraining hand on her shoulder. "Phoebe, in centaur school I specialized in magical healing. Perhaps I can administer the medicine better to your mother." She put out her hand. Phoebe placed the locket in it and turned away.   
  
Quietly, Sarah murmured, "Where is your illness based?"  
  
"My bones, I think."  
  
Sarah quickly poured handfuls of healing water a bit here and especially there all over the woman's body. By the time she was done, Colinda sat up, once again a healthy middle-aged woman. "You made me well again! How can I ever thank you?" she asked, amazed.  
  
Sarah leaned forward. "Make sure that your daughter stays far from evil at all times. Do not let her get into trouble."  
  
Colinda frowned. "I'll try, but it's not as easy as you make it sound. She's a very...exuberant little girl."  
  
"Try," Sarah whispered. Then she turned to Phoebe and said, "I'm sure I shall see you soon, Phoebe. Would you like to stay with us for a bit or with your mother? We do need your help, we can't leave you for more than a week, I think."  
  
Phoebe pleaded, "Oh please, please let me stay with Mother for a bit! I feel so guilty, and I just need to..."  
  
"Understood," Sarah said. She turned and left the cabin. The last thing she saw was mother and daughter embracing.  
  
The other six ran up. "We caught you! Cried Donna breathlessly. "Did you heal her?"   
  
"Perfectly and completely," Sarah assured them.  
  
"I'm sure that any job done by you was a job well done," said Alex, making Sarah blush a bit. She didn't want to admit it, but she liked Alex a good deal more than she should, since he would be leaving as soon as the quest terminated. But she couldn't concentrate on that at the moment. She told the group, "I told Phoebe she could stay with her mother for a bit. They need some time to repair their damaged relationship."  
  
"For sure!" agreed Terra. "Stability is highly underrated."  
  
"Well, so we have a week to do absolutely nothing," Donna said.  
  
"Let's have fun!" cried Winda.  
  
"We fully intend to," Aqua informed her.  
  
"How?"  
  
Alex pondered, and then said, "Why don't we go to Castle Roogna? We should tell King Dor, as this mission concerns the welfare of Xanth. I imagine it will be an enjoyable visit to make."  
  
"What are we waiting for?" demanded Igna. "Let's go!"  
  
The seven companions set off toward Castle Roogna.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Tempestas turned to his followers. "I am going to make a short trip to find out about the landscape. When I come back, we will attempt to kidnap the little sorceress brat. Actually, we are going to child-nap her, kid napping is only for goats, but whatever. If I do not return, proceed on to capture Phoebe. In my absence, I designate Cole as leader." This was natural and unsurprising. "Cole can instantly form bottomless pits beneath you, so any failure to listen to him will not be tolerated. I assure all of you that subordination is in your best interest." Tempestas glared at Tom as he made the last point; Tom was the insubordinate one, usually. With those final, lingering words, Tempestas left the campsite.  
  
He found an attractive path and looked down it, trying to locate any monsters or threats in the area. Untrustworthy people naturally do not trust others, and Tempestas was as untrustworthy as was humanly possible. Worse that the Dastard, the last Evil Magician to try to ravage Xanth.   
  
Finally, Tempestas conceded to the safety of the area, and turned back to return to camp. Instead, behind him was only impassable forest.  
  
Oh no! He had blundered onto a one-way path. This was definitely bad news. Tempestas had no choice but to continue onwards on his present path, so he walked on. Eventually, the path terminated onto an open field. Tempestas' mouth dropped open. Setting up for a night in a houseplant in that field were five stunning eighteen-year-old women and a lovely winged centaur filly. Oh, but there was a unicorn-Alicentaur crossbreed with her, so she was apparently attached. Too bad. But the five young women were enough for him to feast his eyes on. He had no way of getting back to camp, but this was a fate exceedingly better than death!  
  
One girl had curly blond hair and grey eyes and seemed a bit air headed. The girl standing next to her gesticulating excitedly had thick red hair and red eyes, and the two conversing comfortably near the edge of the field had wavy blue hair and blue eyes and lustrous brown hair and sparkling green eyes respectively. Tempestas blinked and looked again. These were the element girls fated to screw up his mission! Another girl was walking near the edge of the field, closest to where he was hiding. Apparently she was foraging for dinner; it was nearly evening. She had hair that could be viewed as either dark blond or light brown and pretty features from a distance, and a rather nice figure, although she wasn't stunning like the element girls. Momentarily distracted, he didn't hide himself from her.   
  
"Eeeeek!" she cried, getting five e's into it. "Who are you and why are you spying on me and my friends?" The other six couldn't hear or see her from this distance.  
  
"Forgive me, ravishing maiden," said Tempestas smoothly, for smoothness is a prime trait for an Evil Magician or Neo-Magician. Besides, it was easy being smooth near her: she was twice as lovely from up close and had stunning turquoise eyes that he had somehow overlooked form a distance. "I am, uh, Carlen, a simple villager who wandered onto a one-way path and ended up here. I did not mean to invade your privacy."  
  
The girl smiled back fetchingly. "I must have overreacted, I'm sorry. I'm Donna, the daughter of Magician Murphy and Sorceress Vadne, with the talent of conjuration. I'm on a Quest at the moment; why don't you come meet my friends?" She grabbed his hand and guided him toward the field. He found that he didn't mind holding hands with her. Then he snapped out of it. Come on, Tempestas, he thought. You're on a mission where nullifying this girl is all-important. Don't think about her beauty! Yet it was more difficult to do than he had suspected.   
  
************************************************************************  
  
Cole stood in front of the group of men. "We must accept the fact that Tempestas has temporarily disappeared," he explained. "For now, let's locate the little girl. I'll make the route all downhill." He could, too; it was useful, being able to terraform. "Let's go!" he commanded. Dav, Roger and Tom shrugged and moved on. Roger pointed out the direction of Phoebe's house; moving quickly, the group arrived shortly before nightfall.   
  
Cole snuck into the house. The mother was asleep on her bed; the brat was asleep on a bedbug. Cole ran up behind the girl and tied up her hands and feet, and then he gagged her. Once the gag was in place, she woke up. "Mmmmph mmmph mmph!" she tried to shout, but the gag did its job effectively and her mother never roused. Cole brutally dragged the little girl out of her house and well away from it. "Silence, little girl," he said coldly. "I am your master now."  
  
  



End file.
